New member from Tipp City, Ohio. 2009 Vibe Base Model 1.8L Auto. Second time that I have owned this particular car. I bought it new in 2009 and immediately gifted it to my sister-in-law. Her son (my nephew) drove it for 10 years and 133K miles and then she gifted it back to me last week. I am now going through it mechanically for my youngest son (15 1/2 years old) to learn how to drive in.
Glad to hear that it's staying in the family. I learned on an '81 Ford Escort Wagon (manual transmission), and in some ways, the station wagon shape is better for learning than a small car, and much better than a HUGE vehicle. (I also learned on a '77 Ford E150 van. The Escort was easier to deal with)
Be sure to look for that stereotypical engine leak as has been listed here for others of the 09 and 10s.
Welcome to GenVibe. Interesting "family" story and how the Vibe is staying in the family Do you have records of what was done to it the past 10 years? Was it housed close/near you to where you occasionally got to see it again? Not knowing any circumstances BUT that was very generous of you at the time to "gift" the vehicle (probably a $15k value or more at the time) and now it's back to you. Let us know what you end up doing
10 years ago, when I gave them the Vibe, things were tough for that family. My brother (my nephew's father) had just passed away the year before. I did what I did to try and help them out as best I could.
My nephew kept pretty good records of what work was done on the Vibe. It's not a beauty queen but it is pretty solid.
My sister-in-law, nephew and niece all live about 20 minutes away so I saw the Vibe on a regular basis. For the last three years my nephew and I have been working at the same company so I have been seeing the Vibe daily.
The Vibe should work out great as a first car for my youngest son. It is providing an opportunity for me to teach him something about car repair and maintenance.